This simply told story clearly lets the reader know how Peter feels about having a new sister in the house.

Materials

• Laundry basket or box big enough for child to sit in.
• Bear Counter Card

Vocabulary

• Fussing (trying to make it perfect and pretty)
• Cradle (A small bed for a baby)
• Rascal (trickster)
• Jealous (envious, feeling like things are not fair)

Before Reading the Story

Have all the children stand on one side of your carpet area. Ask them, “Who has a baby sister at home?” Have those children move to the other side of the carpet. Count them and write on a piece of paper ‘Baby Sister’ and the amount. Have the children move back to the original side of the carpet and do the same thing asking about a baby brother, a big sister, and then a big brother. Talk about which count had the most and the least.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Reading the Story

In the story Peter is jealous and angry, use your voice to make this emotion heard. When you get to the part where it says, “But he couldn’t fit in the chair”. Stop and ask the children why they think he cannot fit (He was too big). When you read the last line of the story, ask the children how they think Peter was feeling throughout the story. (He was mad. He didn’t like his sister. He was sad). Then ask them how they think Peter felt at the end of the story. (He was gonna help his Daddy. He felt better cause he shared).

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare, and contrast objects, events, and experiences.  

After Reading the Story

Ask the children who have younger siblings if they ever felt jealous? Give the children a chance to share about their own families and how the members interact with each other. (My brother always takes things away from me. My baby bit me on the arm and I cried! My little brother he wakes up at night and cries so my Mommy comes and gets him).

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops ability to identify personal characteristics, including gender and family composition. AND Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions, and for other varied purposes.

Discovery

Explain to the children that red and white paint mixed together makes pink paint. Let them combine the two colors together in a paint cup until they have made a shade of pink that they like. Now put at the easel a small amount of blue and yellow paint that they can experiment mixing with their pink paint on the easel paper. The blue and yellow will change the color to more shades of peach and magenta.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions and comparisons among objects and materials.

Music & Movement

Sing or say the poem, When I Was One Years Old.

When I was one years old, I was very, very small.                           Crouch down small

But now I’m _______ years old, and I’ve grown up big and tall!    Begin to stand with hands raised

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Say the following poem, Up and Down, slowly as the children bend over lower and lower each time.

Up and down, up and down,

We’re bending over, up, and down.

Up and down, a little bit more,

See if you can touch the floor!

As the children get the hang of bending up and down with the poem, change the rhythm to a quicker and slower pace.

Creative Arts/ Movement; shows growth in moving in time to different patterns of beat and rhythm in music.

Growing Up

When I was just a baby, I didn’t know how to walk.  

I could only crawl like this.                                                         Children crawl around.

When I was just a baby, I didn’t know how to sit.

I could only sit like this.                                                               Child holds knees and rolls to side.

Now I’m big like this                                                                     Child holds hands over head.

And I can walk, and sit, and play.  I can do so many things at school each day!

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Blocks

Put out any dollhouse supplies that you have, or let the children try to build furniture out of small blocks. Encourage them to build a little chair for the child and a bigger chair for the adult figures.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to determine whether or not two shapes are the same size and shape.

Art

Put out play dough or clay today. Encourage the child to make a ball. Now ask them to make a bigger ball, a smaller ball. Ask them to roll out a snake shape. Can they roll out a longer snake, a shorter snake? Ask them to pound the play dough into a flat pancake, can they make a bigger pancake, a smaller pancake? If you have people cookie cutters let them make people, or encourage them to construct their own people. Can they make taller and shorter people?

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; begins to make comparisons between several objects based on a single attribute.

Sand and Water

Put dry sand into the sensory table today along with capital and small letters. Explain to the children that the capital letters are the adults and the small letters are the children. Ask them to see if they can find the pairs that go together. For children who are not experienced with letter knowledge, trace around the letters onto a piece of poster board so as the children find the letters, they can put them onto the poster board. Trace Aa with a space between Bb, etc through to Zz.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; knows that letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be individually named.

Library and Writing

Put out markers today and have the children draw pictures of their families. After they have finished their drawing, help them to label all their family members. Ask them to talk about who is older and younger than them. (This is my sister, she is big. My family gots lots of people, I’m the big brother).

Creative Arts/Art; progresses in abilities to create drawings, paintings, models, and other art creations that are more detailed, creative, and realistic. AND Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops ability to identify personal characteristics, including gender and family composition.

Dramatic Play

Put a laundry basket or box into the center and let the children take turns being the baby. Ask the other children what they need to do to take care of the baby?

Creative Arts/Dramatic PLay; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations. AND Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Math and Manipulatives

If you have family puzzles, put them out today.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Put out your Bear Counters and counter card. If you do not have Bear Counters, put out any type of counters that you have which comes in a large and small size.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increased abilities to combine , separate, and name”how many” concrete objects.

Outdoor Play

If it is a sunny day, play with the children’s shadows. Can the find their shadow? Can they make it longer and shorter?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Transitions

Ask the children to name something they can do today that they could not do when they were little. Write their responses onto a piece of paper to hang on the wall. (Alison can ride her bike, Ryan used to use a bottle but now he can use a water jug, Lee can eat candy cause he has teeth).

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences

Dear Parent- Today we read a story about a child who was jealous of his baby brother. If your family has a baby in the house, your preschooler may experience jealousy. Jealousy is normal and you can help alleviate some by taking time to talk and be with your preschool child, let him know how special he is and how you appreciate when he helps take care of the baby. Make sure to spend some alone time with your preschool child, reading books is a wonderful one-on-one.

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